Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.1
68 Every country and nation has its own culture, custom and art. No nationality will accept the influence of another culture over its own. In order to rediscover and establish a national identity in traditional art, there is a need for artists to confer and work together. In Myanmar, some people criticise classical, traditional and national artworks as being outdated and behind times. Some mock that they see no real Burmese art and want to experience it, if it exists in the first place. I am not trying to renovate our national art … 69 … but I do wish much for a new style of it. There were abundant writings on the renovation of national art in printed media 20 years ago. Sadly, there are few today. To support the renovation of traditional styles, discussions following methodical studies of culture together with painting, sculpture and decorative art should be held. Moreover, we need to scrupulously study the arts of countries in East Asia, where we many cultural ties. Because of the mural paintings on the walls of ancient stupas in Bagan, we know that the Indian culture took root in the land of Myanmar. The study of Indian art will be of great benefit to the renovation of Burmese art. The renaissance of Indian art began 50 years ago, … 70 … at the same time as the first revolts against British rule. The murals in the Ajanta caves by Buddhist monks, the Mughal paintings by Maha Mydin [?] and the Rajput paintings by Hindus from first to seventh centuries BCE, when the Buddhist religion was shaping, were all disappearing as British culture overwhelmed India, as it did Myanmar.
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This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances. Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.
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AungSoeillustrations.org
Rabindranath Tagore founded the Viśva-Bharati University in Śāntiniketan where his grandsons lived, after returning from a long journey to many countries and a relative of his, an artist named Abanindranath Tagore who was trained in Western art … 71 … began to work for the development of traditional art. He based his teachings on the ancient wall paintings in the Ajanta caves and the painted scrolls of the Hindu Rajput and Maha Mydin [?] which had been lost for a long time. The drawing techniques and moderate but profound concepts of ancient Indian national art were then brought back to be studied. He also studied the art of other Asian countries, such as China, Japan and Tibet. He discarded what he did not need and merged with Indian art techniques which he thought would be useful to rejuvenate Indian art. Government departments and other organisations helped to restore Indian art to its former glory, and it now occupies a most prestigious position internationally. The government gave some art students in Bombay large grants, one of which funded the copying of the Ajanta cave paintings, which took over ten years to complete. 72 The department of stone-rubbing also made films and colour photos of them. Today, Indian art is spreading across the country, as well as in America, countries in Western Europe and Asia. A number of Indian national art exhibitions have been held in several countries. A very famous artist recognised worldwide for Indian art history is Jamini Roy. Like Dr. Nandalal Bose, he was one of Abanindranath Tagore’s close students. He was not only a leader in the Indian art school which I once attended, but also the artist who took the lead in creating Indian national art today. In the history of Indian art, he was one of the top artists and was thus well respected by people in his country. After Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose, it is heartening that young Indian artists can take their place to lead Indian art today. The paintings by Jamini Roy, an artist that I admire, can … 73 … move and amaze every viewer. He incorporated traditional styles into his modern works (“Modern Art” [English] or new Indian traditional art). His early works showed that he was as good at creating paintings in the traditional style as Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose.
Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.
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AungSoeillustrations.org
He later based his paintings on “FOLK ART” [English], creating new forms of Indian art. This is why art lovers around the world – not only those in India – like his new form of paintings in the Indian traditional style.
Translated by Pann Hmone Wai
Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.
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AungSoeillustrations.org